Comments on: Merchandising, Merchandising . . . Priorities? http://www.notnews.org/policy/merchandising-merchandising-priorities/ Philosophy, public affairs and pop culture. Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:35:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Dave Thomer http://www.notnews.org/policy/merchandising-merchandising-priorities/#comment-10257 Dave Thomer Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:45:36 +0000 http://www.notnews.org/?p=546#comment-10257 Your music/sports comparison makes me think of the mind/body divide - I think we tend to give people more credit for things like their decision-making skills or creativity over skills that are more obviously physical. Whether that makes any sense when, say, my (decent) memory would seem to depend on my physical makeup just as much as my (nonexistent) fastball is a whole new - and probably worthwhile - discussion. Your music/sports comparison makes me think of the mind/body divide – I think we tend to give people more credit for things like their decision-making skills or creativity over skills that are more obviously physical. Whether that makes any sense when, say, my (decent) memory would seem to depend on my physical makeup just as much as my (nonexistent) fastball is a whole new – and probably worthwhile – discussion.

]]> By: liriano http://www.notnews.org/policy/merchandising-merchandising-priorities/#comment-10256 liriano Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:26:21 +0000 http://www.notnews.org/?p=546#comment-10256 I suspect that if people limited their interests to things with "intrinsic" value, we would end up throwing out a whole lot more than sports. It isn't obvious to me, for instance, that things like music are more intrinsically valuable than sports (and top music artists make even more money than pro athletes). When it comes to the value of cultural and recreational pursuits, I think that intellectuals tend to give sports a bad rap. You won't find many people who give complain of Yo-Yo Ma as they do Ryan Howard. I suspect that if people limited their interests to things with “intrinsic” value, we would end up throwing out a whole lot more than sports. It isn’t obvious to me, for instance, that things like music are more intrinsically valuable than sports (and top music artists make even more money than pro athletes). When it comes to the value of cultural and recreational pursuits, I think that intellectuals tend to give sports a bad rap. You won’t find many people who give complain of Yo-Yo Ma as they do Ryan Howard.

]]> By: Dave Thomer http://www.notnews.org/policy/merchandising-merchandising-priorities/#comment-10223 Dave Thomer Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:17:50 +0000 http://www.notnews.org/?p=546#comment-10223 I'm not sure that ease of replacement really explains the discrepancy. Police forces and the military frequently report trouble recruiting problems, especially when their services are most in demand. So a relevant question becomes how important it is to get A person to do a particular job. Furthermore, the truth is that, perhaps because of this trouble in getting people to do the job, sometimes we do not get the kind of person that it is important to have in the job. And the result is something like an Abu Ghraib or a police corruption scandal. A sports team that does not get their first choice of superstar may in fact be able to get similar production from a less expensive player - and may in fact be making a mistake in not doing so. If people started buying fewer tickets and suites and less merchandise, athlete salaries would go down regardless of how unique the star player's talents are. (Or if voters threw out of office any elected official who subsidizes a profit bonanza such as a major professional sports team, likewise salaries would go down.) In the post you link to in your comments, you argue that society should create incentives for people to fill the roles that society needs filled. I don't disagree. My major argument here is that society's unwillingness to make the investment to do so shows that it does not recognize that it needs those roles filled and filled well. I'm not sure if I fully agree with your comment about things being more intrinsically valuable, although I am enjoying the mental image of a group of rabid fans cheering on the sustainable farming of organic vegetables, pennants in hand. I’m not sure that ease of replacement really explains the discrepancy. Police forces and the military frequently report trouble recruiting problems, especially when their services are most in demand. So a relevant question becomes how important it is to get A person to do a particular job. Furthermore, the truth is that, perhaps because of this trouble in getting people to do the job, sometimes we do not get the kind of person that it is important to have in the job. And the result is something like an Abu Ghraib or a police corruption scandal. A sports team that does not get their first choice of superstar may in fact be able to get similar production from a less expensive player – and may in fact be making a mistake in not doing so.

If people started buying fewer tickets and suites and less merchandise, athlete salaries would go down regardless of how unique the star player’s talents are. (Or if voters threw out of office any elected official who subsidizes a profit bonanza such as a major professional sports team, likewise salaries would go down.) In the post you link to in your comments, you argue that society should create incentives for people to fill the roles that society needs filled. I don’t disagree. My major argument here is that society’s unwillingness to make the investment to do so shows that it does not recognize that it needs those roles filled and filled well.

I’m not sure if I fully agree with your comment about things being more intrinsically valuable, although I am enjoying the mental image of a group of rabid fans cheering on the sustainable farming of organic vegetables, pennants in hand.

]]> By: Richard http://www.notnews.org/policy/merchandising-merchandising-priorities/#comment-10203 Richard Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:59:55 +0000 http://www.notnews.org/?p=546#comment-10203 [Fixed name] [Fixed name]

]]> By: pixnaps http://www.notnews.org/policy/merchandising-merchandising-priorities/#comment-10201 pixnaps Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:57:58 +0000 http://www.notnews.org/?p=546#comment-10201 "<i>I often ask myself why someone can get paid $10 million to play first base when that job is so much less essential to our well-being...</i>" From an economic perspective, the relevant question is not how essential the type of job is, but rather: how essential it is that *this particular person* fill the position. Police officers are far more easily replaced than superstar athletes. So although the police force as a whole is vitally important, the value of the marginal police officer is quite a different matter! (Cf. <a href="http://www.philosophyetc.net/2007/07/fair-pay-and-price-signals.html" rel="nofollow">Fair Pay and Price Signals</a>.) (Though I agree that there's not really any good reason to like sports so much. If people could change their tastes so that they derived such enjoyment from more intrinsically valuable things, that would be better.) “I often ask myself why someone can get paid $10 million to play first base when that job is so much less essential to our well-being…”

From an economic perspective, the relevant question is not how essential the type of job is, but rather: how essential it is that *this particular person* fill the position. Police officers are far more easily replaced than superstar athletes. So although the police force as a whole is vitally important, the value of the marginal police officer is quite a different matter! (Cf. Fair Pay and Price Signals.)

(Though I agree that there’s not really any good reason to like sports so much. If people could change their tastes so that they derived such enjoyment from more intrinsically valuable things, that would be better.)

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